Radio
In Africa, radio is by far the most developed form of media. The number of commercial and community stations continues to increase, despite such recurrent problems as lack of training, obsolete equipment, low level of domestic productions, high level of imported programmes, financial constraints linked to fiscal obligations and the absence of a clear legal framework. Moreover, despite the use of satellite broadcasting, in some cases the radio stations have limited geographic coverage.43 To a certain extent, the shift towards digital radio poses similar problems as for television. Therefore, it is important to put in place a comprehensive plan for enhancing the creative economy, including the development of radio.
of audiovisual services in 2008, when its exports exceeded $13.6 billion. The United Kingdom, France and Canada were the other major players. Hungary emerged as the fifth major exporter of audiovisual services in 2008. On the other hand, developing economies lost market share in audiovisual exports during the period 2002-2008. Exports of audiovisual services from developing economies totalled only $1.37 billion in 2008. Argentina was the main exporter, followed by China and the Republic of Korea. The Russian Federation was the largest exporter of these services from the economies in transition (tables 2.5.1.A and 2.5.1.B in the annex). This overall trend is indicative of the world market for audiovisuals, even if the magnitude of the reported data (amounting to $27 billion) does not reflect the real size of the global market. Audiovisuals constitute a large and dynamic subgroup that will remain one of the pillars of the creative economy. The situation was similar for audiovisual goods, with exports nearly doubling, from $462 million in 2002 to $811 million in 2008 — an annual growth rate of 7.2 per cent (see chart 5.13). Developed countries had 89.5 per cent of the world market share, compared to 9.2 per cent for developing countries and 1.2 per cent for the economies in transition. Exports of audiovisual goods from developed countries totalled $706 million in 2008, while those from developing countries grew to $75 million.
Chart 5.13
Developed economies
800
International trade in audiovisuals tripled during the period 2002-2008. Exports of audiovisual goods and services increased from $14.1 billion to $27.2 billion, growing on average by 9 per cent annually. However, audiovisuals accounted for just 4.6 per cent of total exports of creative-industry products in 2008. Most of this trade was for audiovisual services, which accounted for $26.4 billion, while audiovisual goods totalled only $811 million. Developed economies dominated the market, retaining nearly 90 per cent of world exports for audiovisuals. The United States was the leading exporter
700
43
(in millions of $)
International trade
42
Audiovisuals: Exports, by economic group, 2002, 2005 and 2008 Developing economies
Transition economies
5 International trade in creative goods and ser vices: Global trends and features
Despite recent changes in lifestyle, radio remains a major communication tool, mainly due to its extremely broad coverage, which can reach very remote geographical zones. In general radio has high rates of local production, and advertising is its main source of income. In most countries, radio laws require broadcasters to maintain a minimal domestic production to ensure that daily programmes covers local news and national music. Recently initiatives have sought to strengthen community radio stations and involve them in societal and civic processes, such as ethnic affirmation, gender equity and grass-roots advocacy for youth, particularly in Latin America. In most countries, audiovisuals law regulates the functioning of the radio industry; usually stations are granted authorization to operate for ten years, renewable automatically for the same period; holders must typically be national citizens, and participation of foreigners is often limited.42
600 500 400 300 200 100 0
2002
2005
2008
Source: UNCTAD based on official data reported to UN COMTRADE database
UNESCO (2006), Trends in Audiovisual Markets: Regional Perspectives from the South. Ibid. C R E AT I V E E C O N O M Y R E P O R T 2 0 1 0
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